A right thigh laceration sustained on Sunday by Flyers fourth-line winger Zac Rinaldo could lead to Tye McGinn making his NHL debut Tuesday night in New Jersey.

A Flyers’ fourth-round draft pick in 2010, McGinn is being recalled from AHL Adironack. He played an AHL game on Sunday in Atlantic City for the Phantoms, then didn’t leave town with the Flyers’ affiliate.

McGinn, 22, is a tough forward prospect who last week received a post-lockout, training-camp tryout with the Flyers.

Rinaldo will be sidelined a week minimum after being injured in the first period of the Flyers’ 5-2 loss in Buffalo on Sunday when his right thigh was sliced by one of Sabres defenseman Robyn Regehr’s skates. Rinaldo needed 20 stitches to repair the cut.

To make room for McGinn on the Flyers’ 23-man roster, they’ll need to drop a player by Tuesday. The candidates are Tom Sestito and Jody Shelley, both tough-guy forwards who were healthy scratches in the Flyers’ first two games. Whomever the Flyers drop from their roster would go through waivers, and if clearing, he’d would be sent to Adirondack.

The surviving forward then would be a candidate along with McGinn to fill Rinaldo’s spot on the Flyers’ fourth line against New Jersey.

A 6-foot-2, 207-pounder, McGinn has 11 goals, 15 points, 52 penalty minutes and is a minus-11 in 33 games this season for the Phantoms.

Monday is an off day for the Flyers, who will bus to Newark tonight for Tuesday’s game against the Devils – the team that knocked them out of the 2011-12 playoffs in the second round.

About this Blog

On the ice and in the locker room with the Philadelphia Flyers

About the Author

Dave Isaac joined the Courier-Post in April 2012 after covering the Flyers for the past three seasons. He graduated from Temple University with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.
Follow Dave on Twitter @davegisaac.